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With great affection, my father often tells a story about my younger brother and me running around in the front yard. There’s also a slight hint of annoyance whenever he tells it, but it’s the kind of irritation that parents with young children are allowed. Especially when their kids’ favorite television program showcases the most random, sing-song ideas of a bow tie-wearing man-child.
“You two used to run around the yard and sing that damn thing over and over again,” he laughs over the phone. In the background, my mother emits an audible sigh as he continues: “‘Connect the dots, la la la-la! Connect the dots, la la la-la!‘ All the damn time.”
Anyone who grew up with their faces glued to a television set on Saturday mornings in the late ’80s and early ’90s knows the tune without clicking on the link above. It comes from Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the utterly ridiculous children’s show that featured comedian Paul Reubens’ iconic Pee-wee Herman character for five seasons. Like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood before, during, and after it, Playhouse introduced kids to a variety of characters who all lived in or near a specific community. For Rogers, these were the residents of his own typically suburban neighborhood and those who lived in the land of Make-Believe. For Pee-wee, it was a playhouse on top of a weird claymation mountain that looked like it’d been designed by artists and builders who were dropping acid more than drinking coffee.
But I was just a kid, so I didn’t think anything was wrong with a talking chair named Chairry with big googly eyes and movable arms with which she’d tickle Pee-wee regularly. Nor did I think too much about a globe named Globey whose penchant for map puns was just above my intelligence at the time. Pee-wee’s Playhouse was a big, magical world of multi-colored, fast-paced things that engaged me on a level little else could. I was a weird, loner of a kid, so when I saw this guy on television whose style of dress mirrored my own, I couldn’t help but feel some sort of camaraderie with him. Even if he was just a fictional character developed by an actor, Pee-wee was more real to me then than the park across the street whose bullies weren’t too fond of my bow ties.
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Great piece. I never understood the uproar about his actions in an adult theater. Seems like whipping your junk out would be common practice at one of those places.
In high school a group of us went into xxx theater in NYC. There were like 10 dudes in there besides us. 8 were jackin it under blanket, 1 was getting a bj from a hooker and 1 dude was eating a big mac.
Someone had to snitch on Pee Wee, and the person who did that is a total a-hole.
@Fadeproof now that’s diversity!
Exactly… my whole point back when it happened was, “what was he *supposed* to do? Follow the plot and witty dialogue?”
It’s not like he started flogging his knob in the middle of church….
I actually did hear about and understand that stuff back then, I was a preteen at the time. I didn’t get what the big deal was either. It seemed logical. I thought for a while that the reason for the furor was that he was in the adult movie theater at all.
The media, in general, loves to tear people down and demonize them. Partially because scandals get ratings (or clicks these days) and partially because some people get a sick satisfaction out of wielding the collective power to ruin somebody’s life, although they ultimately failed with Pee Wee largely because his fans refused to abandon him and because the man was able to take it in stride.
I still have that doll!!!! Doesn’t work anymore, but there it sits on my shelf.
I had little kids at the time he got busted and watched the playhouse with them every saturday morning. I even bought the series for them so they could still watch after he was busted.
The jerking off publicly did bother me. It’s a weird and pervy thing to do, even in a porno theater. It showed amazingly bad judgment for a man in his position to even walk through the door.
But the worst thing he ever did was to screw Phil Hartman out of any money and credit for helping Paul develop the character of Pee Wee. Giving Phil an occasional walk on part on the show wasn’t enough.
Paul Reubens is a pop culture figure, but not a hero. His best acting role was playing a real asshole hotel front desk clerk in Cheech and Chong’s next movie. It’s hilarious.
Good ole Pee Wee. Pee Wee’s big adventure was one of my favorite films for a long time and HBO couldn’t play it enough when I was a kid. It was awesome. I’m happy that his brand of weirdness is receiving a revival today. He was and is truly unique.
pee wee jerking off to a porno in an adult theater…which is common practice with anyone that is legal and old enough to do so. Therefore, nothing was wrong with it. Oh, he was a host for a kid a show?? Well guess what, my parents had me as a baby and a kid and a teenager because they fucked. And oh yea, even when i was a baby, a kid, a teenager and whatnot, they still fucked despite living under the same roof with kids (either late at night when everyone is sleeping or kids playing in the backyard). Hits a lot more “home” than a host that goes to a place where no kids are around at all and jerks off.
Owns childlike nudity photography??? Hmm..what’s different to that than a lot of christian families hanging pictures on the walls with angels depicting the likeness of little kids flying with wings all butt naked in all their glory??? A butt is a butt and a penis is a penis. So…no difference there…so why was that harmful???
Pee Wee Herman is one hell of a pop icon character that never did anything wrong to deserve backlash from anyone.
Your bow-tie and suspenders game was on point.